My first impression of Vampire Diaries when I saw the previews was "vampires are everywhere. Why, oh, why must everything be about vampires?" My girlfriend had dragged me see every Twilight. Love and vampires is such an old theme I was getting tired of it already. Then I actually watched Vampire Diaries. Then I read the wiki and learned about the novel it was based on (which I have never read) and now most of my motivation for watching derives of hoping to see some of things from the novels happen on the show. It has its lapses into "what's going on now, I'm bored" but it picks up. To be honest though, watching Vampire Diaries was what opened me up enough to watch Secret Circle (and I was actually disappointed when it was canceled, though now I'm watching Reign very much to tide me over until I can get a copy of season 3 of Game of Thrones).